


DATABASE.

by RussianSunflower3



Series: Sunflower's MatsuIwa week [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fighting, Log Horizon AU, M/M, MatsuIwa Week, except it's called Druid's World, sucked into a video game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 04:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11119497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RussianSunflower3/pseuds/RussianSunflower3
Summary: Ever since getting sucked into the online game of Druid's world, Seijou have gotten used to their new life.But when a confrontation with a group of Player Killers leads to them separating across Druid's World, they're going to have to do their best to survive.Matsukawa and Iwaizumi just so happen to endrightup in the middle of Suna Desert.





	DATABASE.

“Oi… Where the fuck are we?” Iwaizumi squints at bright sunlight, almost harsh as it bears down on them from an open sky. All around him is nothing but desert, and Matsukawa. 

“Suna Desert. The enemy must have used Warp Gate on us. Clever.” Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance, Iwaizumi turns to Matsukawa with hands on his hips.  
Or, as close as they can get with all his armour in the way. Sometimes, he really regretted choosing a Warrior class with a Tank position. Being a Guardian was great during battle, but not trapped in a scorching desert. (Fortress style, of course. It looked the coolest.)

Matsukawa was slightly better off, even if his Assassin outfit was entirely black. It was, at the very least, skin tight and thin - instead of thick armour like a baking chamber. Still, he held a hand up to shield from the harsh rays of the sun.

“If I’m correct… There should be a village due east. It’ll take half an hour to get there though. Can you do that in your armour?” Iwaizumi nods, already wrestling himself out of the oversized breastplate and placard. The Pauldrons had been the first to go, stuffing them into his bag. Iwaizumi was thankful he’d completed he quest that gave him a bag with no end to space. 

“I can remove most of it. We have water too. Did you complete the level 80 quest to summon griffons?” Matsukawa roots around in his own bag, searching for the griffon whistle.

“Yeah. Luckily, I finished it before the update.”

The update. To make short an explanation, anyone who had updated “Druid’s World” to version 3.6.9 had suddenly found themselves passing out at their computers and waking up in a strange, new world.

Except it wasn’t new. They were _in_ Druid’s World. Everything was the same, from the nature to the monsters to the villages and safe zones. The only difference was that NPC’s were no longer fixed by what they said, and could interact freely with the Adventurers. 

Some - like Seijou - had adapted very quickly to the new world, despite having only seen it through a computer screen and at nowhere near a good enough resolution.

So to, they wouldn’t have been able to _feel_ what their characters went through. Now, they were truly living Druid’s World. As Matsukawa whistles for a griffon summoning, Iwaizumi curses that they had to fight. A group of PKers. Player Killers. 

The only reason they were here instead of battling was because they’d overwhelmed the group with Iwaizumi’s brute strength and Oikawa’s tactics. The PK groups, however, had a powerful sorcerer on their side. One who had apparently scattered the team via a warp gate.

A screech heralded the appearance of a griffon, swooping down from the sky to land at Matsukawa’s feet. Fondly, he pet the griffon, bonding with it. Although it would obey him completely thanks to the griffon whistle, it never hurt to get along with the beasts. Matsukawa pulled himself onto the saddle with a quiet ‘hup!’, checking that everything was secure and ready to fly.

“Coming, Hajime?”

“No, I just thought I’d walk through the desert with no idea where I’m going.” Matsukawa rolls his eyes at the sarcasm, but the corners of his lips twitch up. He offers Iwaizumi a hand, heaving him up onto the back of the griffon. The tight and desperate way arms wrap around his waist and cling on doesn’t surprise him.

Iwaizumi is scared of heights. He always has been, even since before they got sucked into the game world. The team had been unable to eat on the school rooftop thanks to that, but the field was much nicer anyway.  
Matsukawa clicks his tongue, tugging at the reins, and the griffon’s powerful wings beat as it lifts into the air. Their shadow gets smaller and smaller on the ground, Iwaizumi tearing his eyes away and burying his face in Matsukawa’s back.

“Hold on tight, okay?”

“D-Don’t let me fall.”

“I won’t, I won’t. I promise, Hajime.” With a tilt of his feet, the griffon changes from gaining altitude to soaring on the wind, heading towards the east. Matsukawa has an amazing ability to memorise the entire map of Druid’s World, and it comes in especially handy in situations like this. He knows where the closest village is, and from there, they can hopefully activate the transport system located in each different town or biome. 

His train of thought grinds to halt when he realises Iwaizumi’s _shaking_.

“Not long now… Hold on just a little bit, it’s okay…”

“I- Issei, it’s so high…” 

“I know, I know…” He might get a smack later for crooning like he’s talking to a child, but for now, it works just to keep Iwaizumi a little calmer. He manages to hold on until the griffon lands just outside the village boundaries, which is the point where he scrambles off to let flat on his back on the sand - Never mind the sword secured across it.

“Screw the heat. I fucking love the desert. The sand.”

“You just hate the sky~.” Iwaizumi nods at the teasing, one eye peeling open to watch as Matsukawa laughs, throwing his head back with free abandon. He’s _handsome_ , and Iwaizumi’s heart skips a beat when Matsukawa stops laughing and instead smiled at him.

“You’re blushing, Hajime~.”

“N-No! It’s the heat!” He takes the hand offered to him again, but this time, he doesn’t let go - instead lacing their fingers together. It’s Matsukawa’s turn to blush, and he rubs the back of his head with his free hand.

“How did I get such a cute boyfriend, huh?”

“Shut up, you’re the cute one.”

“I’m 6' 2" and scare children.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m 179 _.3_ cm and I’ll kick your ass if you don’t admit you’re the cute one.” Matsukawa snickers, though he knows full well Iwaizumi will make good on that promise. He has a very aggressive way of caring.

“Alright, I’m cute~. But you’re very defensive about that .3, aren’t you?” He fully expects it when Iwaizumi trips him, laughing as he pushes himself back up from the sand. Iwaizumi still holds his hand though, and stops to let him brush off. Even so, he refuses to look Matsukawa in the face. Ooh, he’s irritated.

“I’m sorry! I love you! Hajimeeee~.” A kiss to his cheek is all it takes for Iwaizumi to stop pretending he’s mad and he turns round to capture Matsukawa’s lips with a small nip.

“I love you too, but don’t make fun of my height, you beanpole.” Matsukawa is about to promise him that, when there’s a scream from the village. They exchange a worried glance before rushing forwards, Iwaizumi hopping on one foot at times as he pulls his armour back on. The scene they walk into is one they’re common with.

A guild gone rogue, attempting to take over the village. NPC’s scramble for safety, whilst other adventurers try their best to fight them, but this guild is a strong one. Through thought alone, Iwaizumi brings up a stat screen, a replica of what he’d have at the side of his computer back in the other world.

“4 of them are level 60 - 70, the one at the front is level 86. Their HP ranges from 380 to 450. Two Swashbucklers, one Cleric, two Summoners, one Samurai, and one Assassin.”

“We’re at a huge disadvantage… Both outnumbered, out-levelled, and our HP combined is much less than theirs… Not to mention they have a member from the Healer class.” Iwaizumi’s lips twist with disgust, not at Matsukawa, but at how the Samurai pushes down a mother and child NPC. Within the blink of an eye, he’s running out in front of the group despite their horses, bracing his shield and pulling his sword out to tap across it.

“Anchor Howl!” The defiant roar instantly raises his defense stat, at the same time giving off a wave of green light like an explosion, as he glows. 

“Attacking the people who live here and can’t defend themselves! That’s wrong and disgusting! I’ll teach you a lesson, you filthy cowards!” Matsukawa pinches the bridge of his nose as the enemies charge at Iwaizumi, drawn in by his skill. If they ignore it, after all, it’ll provoke a huge counterattack. 

Starting a fight really wasn’t going to help them get back to the team, but he _was_ trying to do the right thing, so...

“You’re too kind for your own good, Hajime…” He closes his eyes slowly, reopening them with a hint of coldness. From his sleeves, he produces two tanto blades. Ah, he’s so glad he chose the Sword Dancer build when he designed his assassin character.

“Accel Fang.” Where Matsukawa stood, a cloud of sand goes up as he lunges into battle, almost too fast for the eye to see. Whilst the enemy adventurers lunge towards Iwaizumi, Matsukawa darts between them, dashing back and forth and taking small hits off their HP. The most he continues, the higher his attack strength gets. His main target is the Cleric. If he can immobilise the healing force of the rogue guild before Iwaizumi’s Anchor Howl wears off, they have a better chance at defeating the other four.

But Iwaizumi was withstanding an attack from _five_ people, and although he had a defense boost, his HP was also dropping. 

Anchor Howl would wear off in 30 seconds, and the cooldown was far too long for him to use it again afterwards. They had no choice but to get this over with quickly, or reawaken at the Chapel in Minami. Not a good place to be, since they were travelling to Susukino and had bypassed Akiba in favour of travelling a shorter distance.

Matsukawa jumps back just in time to avoid a punch to the stomach. Iwaizumi’s effect is wearing off the longer he sustains it, and Matsukawa can see it’s starting to wear down on his stamina. Somehow, he manages to weave through the enemies to his side, shouting in his ear as he lands an attack on the other Assassin over Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

“Hajime, use Cross-stance!” The Guardian nods, raising his sword and quickly slashing it in the shape of an X, sending an attack rippling through the rogues that pushes them back. Matsukawa’s eyes widen when he catches a glimpse of the transport portal at the end of the street.

“I think I just figured out a way to beat them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we don’t actually have to defeat them. We’ll use the portal.” Iwaizumi’s eyebrows furrow in understanding, taking stance.

“We’ll be stuck in this town for a few hours.”

“I think we can manage~. Do your best, Hajime.”

“Just get the portal open, Issei! I’ll do the rest!” Matsukawa nods, activating Stealth Blade to move past the guild unnoticed. He slips past them, invisible, and skids to a halt by the portal. All he needs to do is choose a place to send them, activate it, and Iwaizumi will push them through.

The only problem is choosing a location. Somewhere with no village or town… Somewhere not _too_ deathly… His eyes light up with the perfect idea.

“Ragranda Forest!” It takes a full minute for the portal to charge. Matsukawa can only hope Iwaizumi’ll be able to hold on that long. He’s already breathing hard and covered in sweat. The heat of this desert village is taxing, just as much as the actual battle. Not to mention that he’s taking all the hits.

“Sh… Shield Swing!” He charges into the fray, taking _huge_ amounts of HP from multiple enemies. The only problem is that it uses a lot of MP, leaving him with fewer choices to keep the enemies attention on him. Matsukawa frantically looks between the battle and the portal, biting his bottom lip. He feels… Slightly useless. But he’s not Oikawa. He can’t see a way for both of them to safely get involved. He can’t… He can’t use his own abilities to help Iwaizumi, without risking the plan.

“Aura Saber!” Iwaizumi emits a murderous fighting spirit, his sword taking on a glow like a beam of light, and he swings it to inflict damage like his enemies are wearing no armour at all. Matsukawa’s eyes widen. There’s only 4. _There’s only 4_.

Where’s the 5th person?! 

One of the Swashbucklers is missing, and Matsukawa faintly hears _“Round Windmill!”_ from behind Iwaizumi. It means only one thing. They’re not just planning to attack him, they’re planning to _kill_ him. Even if he’ll revive at the Chapel in Minami, he’ll have to sacrifice precious memories.

Memories of their volleyball games, memories of his friends, memories of their _dates_ -  
What if he doesn’t get a choice? What if the one memory he loses is the one where Matsukawa confessed? Matsukawa isn’t willing to let him lose _any_ of these memories. 

(So far, only Kyoutani has ‘died’ and revived at the Chapel, but that’s just because he rushes into things without a second thought. Oikawa kept him on a tighter leash after that, with Yahaba’s assistance.)

“Hajime! Behind you!” Iwaizumi turns and gets his shield up just in time, blocking the attack. But there’s no chance to stop the affect. For a few short seconds, he’s paralysed.

“ _ **Assassinate!**_ ” The strongest of Matsukawa’s attacks, it’s a move of desperation. But as the ground below the enemies turns white and they start to scream, he knows it was the right choice. Their HP drops and drops, taking them down to double figures instead of triple figures. Somehow, Iwaizumi manages to get back to his feet.

“Anchor Howl!” The green beams of light are back, attracting the enemies to Iwaizumi without fail. Usually, a Guardian in Tank position stands still and braces for the attacks, letting the rest of the party take out anyone not on their team. 

But this time, Iwaizumi runs. He races across the cobblestone and sand, diving to the floor just in front of the portal. Matsukawa is now behind the group, and a quick kick with no special attack sends them sprawling through the portal.

“Have fun with skeleton archers!” Iwaizumi slams the portal closed, laughing huskily as he pants against the ground. He must be exhausted, Matsukawa thinks, as he lifts Iwaizumi up under the arms.

“Hajime, y’okay?”

“Yeah… Yeah, jus’- Jus’ need some water…” Shyly, a little girl - an NPC - steps forth with water in a pouch. Matsukawa recognises her as the little girl who was pushed and threatened by the Swashbuckler.

“U-Um… Thank you for s-saving me, mister!” Matsukawa softly chuckles as he lets Iwaizumi lean against him, holding the pouch up so he can greedily drink. The battle combined with the sun really has beaten the shit out of him. He stops with a sigh of relief and smiles at the little girl.

“Thanks~.” She beams and runs back to her mother with the empty pouch, talking excitedly, most likely about what they’ve just witnessed. As Matsukawa moves Iwaizumi to the shade, he makes small conversation with the villagers and learns that the rogue guild had been terrorizing them ever since The Catastrophe - which is what the NPC refer to The Update by.

They’re thankful, and Matsukawa is happy to talk with them as Iwaizumi rests, slowly building up his HP. He rests his head on Matsukawa’s shoulder sleepily, and Matsukawa wraps an arm around him on reflex, pressing his cheek back against Iwaizumi. They can’t stay this way forever though. The transport portal will be ready for use soon, and they need to get back to the rest of the team.

“Hajime… Hajime~. Time to get up. C’mon, love.”

“5 more minutes… You’re really comfy…”

“I know, but don’t you want to meet up with everyone else? I bet Oikawa’s completely frazzled himself out. Hanamaki’s probably nearly panicking, Kindaichi’s probably full-on panicking, and Yahaba’ll kick our ass if we take too long.”

“True, true. Alright, but you’re gonna have to help me up.” Matsukawa snickers, but as he stands, he pulls Iwaizumi up with him anyways.

“You think they’ll return to where we were before?”

“No… Oikawa wouldn’t risk anyone’s lives around PK’ers. They’ll be in the closest area _to that_ with a transport portal.”

“Ohiya market town it is then.” Activating the portal, Iwaizumi makes to stand on his own as his HP ticks over the halfway point, giving him the strength to walk by himself. He’s still bruised and battered, but nothing he can’t handle. He rests a thick gloved hand on Matsukawa’s back as they step through, a silent _“I’ll always be by your side.”_.

The second they’re through the portal, Matsukawa is tackled to the ground.

“You bastard, do you have any idea how long we were waiting?!” Hanamaki shakes him by the shoulders, and Matsukawa can’t help but laugh as his best friend hugs him tightly. Oikawa smacks Iwaizumi as he steps close, lecturing him for getting in a state and making them worry. Before Iwaizumi can even apologise, Oikawa hugs him softly and welcomes him back.

Glancing around, Matsukawa notices the only one missing is Watari, but the former libero comes bouncing out from behind a stall with a bag of food cooked by other adventurers just as Matsukawa is about to ask where he was.

“Welcome back!” Linking his fingers with Iwaizumi, the two grin as they fall into step with the rest of the team, their adventure towards Susukino only just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment~!


End file.
